Let's Stick Together
by WeasleySeeker
Summary: The story of Charlie and Tonks, told in a series of drabbles. They meet on the Hogwarts Express and decide to stick together. But what will the future bring for them?
1. compatible

They met, as many first-years do, in an empty compartment on the Hogwarts Express, madly excited, but also scared and overwhelmed.

They were perfectly compatible. They both had that love for adventure and the outdoors, they had a similar sense of humour, and they just felt comfortable around each other. And there were the differences, too. Tonks was the sparky, out of control tomboy, whereas Charlie was always cool and collected. They complimented each other.

It was clear from the moment that Charlie entered the compartment that they would become friends.

"Are you a first-year, too?" she asked as he sat down, and she continued quickly without waiting for a reply; it was a rhetorical question. "Good, so I know somebody. I was worried that I'd be the only one walking in on their own! You'll come in with me, won't you? Let's stick together. What's your name?"

"Charlie Weasley," he said, slightly amused at the rapid stream of words emerging from her mouth. "What's yours?"

"Nymphadora Tonks," she replied, "but call me Dora. I _hate_ Nymphadora."

Charlie made a face. Dora. It didn't quite seem right for her. Too... _girly_, he supposed. "I'll call you Tonks," he told her.

Tonks smiled.

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**A/N: This is for the Romantic Drabble Challenge on HPFC - yes, I know this one isn't really romantic, but the others will be more so. So I was given Charlie/Tonks as the pairing, and this is hard for me because I'm a big Remus/Tonks shipper... but I'm having a go. :)**

**Disclaimer: I'm not, and never will be, J K Rowling.**

**Reviews are love!**


	2. respond

It was around their fourth year that Charlie began to realise that he liked her as more than a friend. He tried to drop hints, but she just didn't respond. (Not that he was surprised. Tonks never was one for subtlety.)

When there were parties in the castle, Tonks would always ask _Charlie_ for his assessment of her outfits rather than the girls.

"Why are you asking me?" he would always complain. "Wouldn't the girls be more... qualified to answer?"

Tonks would snort at that. "They're all complete airheads. They don't know anything. Besides, you're a guy. What will the boys be thinking when they see me wearing this?" she would ask, grinning cheekily and giving him a little twirl.

"I think you look stunning whatever you wear," he answered honestly one time, fed up of the textbook answers he usually gave.

Tonks looked taken aback for a second. Then she laughed. "You're only saying that to be nice, because you're my friend." Charlie didn't answer. "Aren't you?" she asked, looking slightly uneasy.

"Of course I am," he said eventually. The relief was evident on Tonks's face, but did Charlie detect a flicker of disappointment on top? Surely not.

That was the closest Charlie had got so far to confessing his feelings. He mentally kicked himself. He _always_ chickened out at the last second. He just didn't want to risk their friendship. Besides, he didn't even know if she felt the same. But there was a small voice on the other side of his head that asked, _aren't you risking our friendship already?_ Best friends aren't meant to have secrets, are they?

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**A/N: This pairing is growing on me :) Please review and let me know what you think of them!**


	3. alive

Charlie watched her throughout the party, dancing with various guys; she was popular, and he didn't seem to be the only person who had realised how attractive she had started to become.

"Charlie!" Tonks called as she ran across the hall, giggling. The joy on her face made him feel so _alive_. "I've danced with almost every boy in our year, and I've even danced with your _brother_, so why haven't I danced with you yet? Are you shy?" she teased. "Have you been avoiding me?"

"I -" he began. "No." The truth was that he just loved to watch her. "I just -"

"What?" she pressed.

Charlie had never been good with words. So he decided the time had come for action. He pressed his lips against hers suddenly, before he could change his mind, and she froze in surprise. Then she seemed to decide she liked it, because she started to respond. It was a foreign thing for them; their mouths adjusted to the feel of each other as the people around them began to whoop and cheer.

Charlie pulled away first; he didn't like the audience and could feel his ears going red. "I've wanted to do that for a long time," he admitted quietly, after the spectators had dissipated.

Tonks looked astonished. "Really? Well why didn't you say so?" she asked indignantly.

"I tried," he said defensively. "You know I'm not good with words. I dropped hints, but you were just oblivious!"

Tonks laughed. "Well, at least I know now," she said simply.

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**A/N: A little long for a drabble, but I don't care. This chapter was also for the First Kiss Challenge. :)**


	4. follow

It was one of those perfect summer mornings. It was light and sunny, but it was early enough for the grass to still be dewy and the air to feel fresh. That was their favourite time of day, before lessons started and the castle began to awake, to lounge around outside on the lawn and be together.

"I'm sick of all these career talks," Tonks moaned, picking at some grass. "They're so boring. I don't find them helpful at all, do you?"

It was a rhetorical question, but Charlie answered. "I actually _have_ found them quite helpful," he told her. "I've decided what I want to do. I never knew before."

"Really? What's that, then?" she asked, surprised. "I always thought you wanted to play Quidditch professionally. I thought that was certain."

Charlie shook his head. "You know I love Quidditch," he said, "but I think doing it all the time, doing it as _work_, would just take the magic away. No, I want to work with dragons."

"That's so cool!" she gushed. "Where would you do that? They have dragons in Wales, don't they? Welsh Greens or something? And then in the mountainous areas? Or am I mixing that up with giants... how could you even do that, seriously -"

"I want to go to Romania," Charlie blurted out, cutting across her.

Tonks blinked. "Romania? Where even is that?"

"Eastern Europe," he said, grinning just at the thought - it was definitely the right path for him. "It's an amazing place, I've seen pictures of it - you'll love it!" A flicker of confusion went across Tonks's face, and Charlie realised that he had been _assuming_ that she would follow him there. "You... you will come with me, won't you, Tonks?" he asked uncertainly.

"Of course I will," she said, after a moment's pause. Seeing that he didn't look reassured, she kissed him gently. But Charlie couldn't help noticing that it seemed hesitant, half-hearted. They had promised to stick together; but what if they ended up apart?

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**A/N: Aww, poor Charlie. What did you think? :)**


	5. circle

The weeks passed, and Charlie was feverishly talking about Romania, and Tonks was getting more and more awkward during these conversations when she didn't manage to avoid them completely, which she certainly attempted to. She forgot how easy it was for Charlie to read her. He knew that something was wrong.

"I need to talk to you," she said finally one day, looking very guilty.

Charlie's heart stopped. He had known it was coming, but he just wanted to live in denial for a little longer.

"Charlie," she told him gently, "I'm not going to Romania. And I know you know that. You're not stupid, and you know me better than anyone." So perhaps she wasn't as oblivious as he thought. "I... I'm so sorry, I should have told you. I should have told you as soon as you mentioned it. I didn't want to disappoint you." She sighed. "But Charlie, I have to follow my dream."

"And what's that?" he asked quietly.

"Becoming an Auror," she said, her eyes gleaming. "I've always wanted to, but I never told you because I never believed I could do it. But my OWL grades are decent, and I'm doing okay at NEWTs - McGonagall says if I work hard enough I can even ace Transfiguration!"

"I'm proud of you," Charlie told her truthfully. He sighed. "I never _really_ believed you would come with me. You've always been your own person. And we can still see each other sometimes, though, right?" Tonks hesitated. "That's not all, is it?" Charlie asked apprehensively.

Tonks bit her lip. "Charlie, believe me when I say I've thought long and hard about this."

Oh god. The break-up speech. He'd hoped this bit wouldn't come.

"I'm so sorry, Charlie," she whispered. "It's like you said, I've always been my own person. And I can't commit to a long-distance relationship. They're doomed to failure, and I don't want either of us to get hurt - Charlie, you're my best friend, and I don't want anything to get in the way of that. And look at us - is this relationship really _going_ anywhere?" Charlie shook his head; it was true, they'd been the same way for years. "I think it's time to move on," she said sadly. "We've had fun, but we've gone full circle. We were better as friends, weren't we?"

He nodded. He was a man; he was _not_ going to let himself cry in front of her. Neither of them had ever expected it to last forever. They were parting on good terms, their friendship was intact. That was the best way it could possibly be.

But he still knew that he would never meet anyone else as special as Nymphadora Tonks.

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**A/N: That's it from me! Sorry for the sad ending, but I hope you enjoyed the story :)**


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